Onion Soup in France
This sad, sad picture is of our dinner one evening in Cannes. We had had a lovely lunch (I think this was the day we took the boat to Saint Tropez and had a big lunch, so we weren’t terribly hungry), so we thought we would a light dinner. Carey had been wanting French Onion soup, so when I saw ‘Soupe a l’oignon’ on a menu, we decided to give it a try. I don’t think it’s that big of a thing in the South of France, and we hadn’t seen it on any menus yet. This was the soup we received…the broth was not the dark, rich broth, the onions had not been caramelized enough, and the toast and cheese were on the side. Not terrible tasting, just not what we wanted.
We tried again at a sidewalk restaurant in Vincennes. You can see that the soup is much richer and darker, and that the bread and cheese have been put under the broiler. It was far better than the one in Cannes, but still lacking a certain something, a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ if you will.
I’m afraid this picture is a little too big and close and not truly appetizing, but this was the definite winner in the search for French Onion Soup. This was at the wonderful souffle restaurant in Paris, and came as a part of an appetizer, with a mini souffle and a little salad. It had that rich beefy flavor, the onions were perfect, the cheese and bread were perfect. It was truly delicious. In this case, perseverance paid off, and the third time was, indeed, the charm.
9 Comments
nance
What a progression from a DYI onion soup to the final product. I’m glad you finally got what you really and truly wanted and that you didn’t give up.
I haven’t had French Onion Soup in ages. I’ve probably never had a really good one and simply stopped trying.
J
I used to have a lot of trouble with French Onion soup, in that I always took a big bite right away and burned the top of my mouth on the melted cheese. That sad first soup would not have done that at least.
The key to getting better FOS in France is to look for ‘soupe à l’oignon gratinée‘. That ‘gratinée’ is key. Most FOS in the US is probably not fabulous, but if you ever find yourself in a lovely French restaurant, and see it on the menu, and especially if it is cold outside or if you are hung over (it’s supposedly a hangover cure in France), give it a try!
San
Haha, I had to chuckle a little bit that even in France there is substandard French Onion Soup. Who knew? 😉 I am glad you found a winner though (looks delicious! I haven’t had Onion Soup in ages, although I really like it.)
J
Thank you, yes, interesting to find French Onion soup that wasn’t what we thought of, right? And I always think of France as having the best restaurants, but this was only sometimes true. Some of them were truly mediocre.
Suzanne
Oooh I love a good onion soup and am well familiar with the wide variation in quality among restaurant offerings! Glad you persevered and finally got a good one!
J
Me too! That was one thing my cousin really wanted, so it was disappointing to have one bad one and one meh before finally getting a good one. I really think it is a dish that takes a lot of time to do right, so probably not something that you will find consistently.
Elisabeth
Yum! My husband loves French Onion Soup. I made a batch last year and he loved it, but I was very “meh” about it all. Too soggy for me (I don’t even like breaking up crackers into my soup).
Unfortunately, I don’t think I like it enough to make it again, so I’ll have to encourage him to buy some out at a restaurant so I’m “off the hook?”
J
I think French Onion Soup can be a lot of work, so I never try to make it. Go to a good French restaurant, and likely he will get one he can really enjoy, and you can NOT have a bowl. Win/win.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I am not sure I ever had onion soup at all. But I agree the last one looks the best –I have the theory that the most ugly photographed food is actually the tastiest.